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Mummy Game 011
11:40:31 PM Kate: March 1922. Luxor. 11:40:57 PM Kate: Felix and the Countess are in bed together after another person was killed in the Karnak temple in town. 11:42:38 PM Kate: Now they're sitting next to each other; she's a bit hunched over. 11:42:55 PM Felix: ... what's on your mind? 11:43:42 PM Kate: Countess: Don't you mean who? 11:43:51 PM Kate: Countess: ... how much I want a cigarette right now. 11:44:01 PM Felix: Why don't you have one? 11:44:53 PM Kate: Countess: My doctor said I smoke too much. And I do not seem to be able to reduce, so I thought perhaps I ought to stop. 11:46:31 PM Felix: Seems reasonable. 11:47:18 PM Kate: Countess: It is... difficult. 11:47:36 PM Kate: Countess: And now that I am apparently mad, it is still difficult. 11:48:29 PM Felix: You really think you're mad? 11:50:25 PM Kate: Countess: No. However, I am trying to decide whether to blow my brains out or confess to the police and be shut up somewhere. 11:50:37 PM Kate: She straightens up, and says, thoughtfully, "I do not think I would like to be shut up." 11:53:03 PM Felix: ... There has to be something else we can do. 11:54:04 PM Kate: Countess: You could chain me up. 11:55:10 PM Felix: ... we could. I mean in a general sense. There has to be something we can do to combat this... curse? This spell? Whatever. 11:56:44 PM Felix: Maybe if we found the tombs of these people? I don't know. 11:56:53 PM Kate: Countess: ... perhaps we ought to tell your little friend. I believe she is more ... receptive than her brothers. 11:57:20 PM Felix: Ariadne? Yeah, maybe. 11:57:32 PM Felix: I wonder... if anyone else is having these visions in the group. 11:58:58 PM Kate: Countess: It is possible. 11:59:14 PM Kate: She opens the drawer on the bedside stand, takes out a little pillbox and swallows one of the pills in it. 11:59:31 PM Felix: What are those? AM Kate: Countess: They help me sleep. I don't like using them. AM Kate: She puts the box back and closes the drawer. AM Felix: Felix nods. AM Kate: Countess: Felix, I would like you to tie me to you for tonight. AM Felix: ((Kinky!)) AM Felix: Felix nods. "All right. That's a good idea." AM Kate: She smiles ever-so-slightly. "There are other things one could do in such a situation." AM Felix: Felix raises an eyebrow. "I suppose so...." AM Kate: Countess: It is somewhat less attractive considering I could be so restrained for decades, now. AM Felix: We'll figure it out, Yelena. I refuse to accept that we're just completely at the mercy of forces we can do nothing about. AM Felix: .. I mean, in this specific instance. AM Kate: She laughs, and curls up in bed. "You might tie me to yourself as well. To be sure." AM Felix: He nods. "I'll tie you to the bed, and I'll tie me to you." AM Kate: She sits up long enough to kiss him. It's hard to tell if it's passionate or just filled with desperation. AM Felix: He kisses her, and finds something to tie her with! AM Kate: Pretty easy to do. There are curtain ties, for example. AM Felix: Felix will do that, then. AM Kate: By the time he's done, she's half-asleep already. AM Kate: Also clingy, and affectionate. AM Felix: Felix is pretty clever with knots. HE makes that she's secure, but comfortable. AM Kate: Countess: Don't let me go. AM Felix: I won't. AM Kate: She murmurs something too quiet for Felix to hear! AM Felix: ((And then she's asleep, right?)) AM Kate: Yep. AM Felix: He holds onto her as promised. AM Kate: Aww. Good man. AM Kate: Eventually, he does fall asleep himself. AM Felix: Yeah, he probably is pretty exhausted himself. AM Kate: Only to find himself back in another temple, in another time. He sees himself as Ramses again, but this time, he's wearing armor and carrying a goodly assortment of weapons, including a sword. AM Kate: He remembers exactly what Ramses is doing here, too--leading a force of Egyptians to take some territory back from a neighboring kingdom. The battle is over, and essentially, all that's left is clean-up, and securing the riches that remain from the enemy troops that have not yet surrendered. AM Kate: He had been part of a group of other soldiers that separated off when this area was deemed already secured, and so now Felix/Ramses is alone at the doors of a large temple, which is likely to have treasure in it. If you're quick, you might be able to stop any noncombatants from hiding it. Maybe. AM Felix: Felix shrugs and goes in! AM Kate: It's beautiful on the inside. Unlike modern temples and their ruins, the walls are freshly painted in bright colors with mythological stories, and many of the building's elements are covered in gold leaf--clearly this was a temple frequented by the very wealthy, and it is indeed well-kept-up. AM Kate: There's an altar at the front, but it turns out that it's not a temple to some foreign deity--it's dedicated to one of Ramses' own gods, though not one he has much personal interest in. AM Kate: It's possible he might not wish to vandalize or loot it, in other words, as that would be somewhat heretical. AM Kate: After all, everyone knows what happened to Akhenaten. AM Felix: Felix looks around, curiously.... looking for anyone else inside. AM Kate: The temple looks empty, though there are still golden braziers burning on either side of it leading to the altar. AM Kate: Roll a d10. AM Felix: ((8!)) AM Kate: You hear something behind you, and have just enough time to draw a weapon before someone, about as well-armored as you, attacks you, a sickle in each hand. AM Felix: Felix spins and draws his sword, bring it up in a parry! AM Kate: His assailant swipes his sword away with one sickle and raises the other to strike. AM Felix: Felix lashes out with a foot, aimed at the knee to throw the other guy off balance. AM Kate: While Felix doesn't have a shield, he *does* have a dagger he could use as an offhand weapon. And he's *very* familiar with its use. AM Kate: There's a grunt, as the foot connects, and the assailant staggers back. AM Felix: Felix draws the dagger and goes on the offensive! AM Kate: He's significantly stronger than the other fighter, who is more lightly armored and therefore, a little bit faster, and thus dodges back again. It's hard to tell which of the sickles is the "off-hand," as the fighter seems to have equal facility with both blades. AM Felix: Felix doesn't relent, batting at the assailant with both weapons, incorporating some of Felix's fancy fencing footwork to Ramses' fighting style. AM Kate: The sickles fly past his helmet, nearly connecting, but he fends them off somehow, and after a few minutes of whirlwind fighting, Felix manages to wrest one of the sickles away from the other fighter, who skips back away from him for a moment. AM Felix: Felix gambles and flicks hurls the dagger at the other fighter! AM Kate: The assailant ducks, and charges Felix with the single sickle. AM Felix: Felix parries and twirls to the side, bring the blade around to strike at his/her back! AM Kate: The other fighter grunts as Felix connects, but there's enough of a clank to let him know he's struck armor. Still, the blow was hard enough that when the assailant skips back afterward, Felix can tell the other fighter has slowed down significantly. AM Kate: Roll a D10. AM Felix: ((3!)) AM Kate: The other fighter runs to retrieve the fallen sickle. AM Felix: Felix moves to try and intercept! AM Kate: He manages, but just barely. AM Kate: Thinking things through, he realize that this person's fighting style seems to be dependent on having *both* weapons. AM Kate: The assailant slashes at Felix again with the single sickle! AM Kate: Roll a D10. AM Felix: ((6!)) AM Felix: Felix will try and kick the sickle away. AM Kate: He misses, but the other person is moving slower and slower now, possibly from the massive bruise on the back that Felix caused earlier. AM Kate: The second time Felix tries to kick the sickle away from the fight, the assailant fails to stop him, and the thing ends up somewhere on the other side. AM Kate: After a moment of hesitation, the other fighter turns to run for the weapon, and Felix has another opening. AM Felix: Felix lunges at the fighter with his blade! AM Kate: Again, he hits mostly armor, but it's enough of a hit that the other fighter falls to the ground. The assailant tries to roll back to stand, but it's rather slow, and Felix spots another opening to try to disarm the fighter entirely, if he wants. AM Felix: Felix will take it! AM Kate: The other sickle flies away! However, Felix is surprised when the *entirely* unarmed assailant roars and pounces him, hands slipping under his helmet around his *neck.* It's much too close-quarters to use the sword now, though the other fighter really isn't that strong. AM Felix: Felix tries for a headbutt if he can! If not, he'll try to just bodily throw the other person off. AM Kate: The headbutt works, and, clearly staggered, the other person falls back and then just falls, back on the ground. AM Felix: Felix puts his sword to their throat! AM Kate: The other fighter is breathing hard in pained little gasps. AM Kate: Fighter: If you defile this temple, you will suffer as no man has *ever* suffered. AM Kate: The other fighter's voice sounds weird and echoey behind the mask! AM Felix: I don't intend to. AM Felix: This is no foreign god to me. AM Kate: Fighter: Then what are you doing here, foreigner? AM Felix: I came to secure this place. AM Kate: The voice *still* sounds weird and echoey. AM Kate: Fighter: ... we have lost. AM Felix: Yes. Who are you? AM Kate: Fighter: No one. Get *off* me. AM Kate: Weeeeeeird. AM Felix: Is there a reason I shouldn't just kill you? AM Kate: Fighter: Your kind never kill, they only enslave! AM Kate: Roll a D10. AM Felix: ((7!)) AM Kate: It's a woman. AM Kate: And she's pretty frightened. AM Felix: Felix pulls off her mask. AM Kate: It's Taia. She immediately spits at Ramses and starts struggling. "Get *off* me!" AM Felix: Felix blinks, and steps back. "Taia?" AM Kate: Taia: How do you know my name, foreigner? AM Kate: She scrambles back a little bit, and stands up, still breathing raggedly. She probably has a couple of bruised (maybe even broken) ribs. AM Felix: I am Prince Ramses. I know many things. AM Kate: Taia: You're a magician. AM Felix: Barely. I just know things. AM Kate: Taia: No one *just knows* someone's name they have never met. AM Felix: I have dreams. AM Kate: Taia: Everyone has dreams. AM Kate: Taia: ... I suppose I am your prisoner. AM Felix: You are. AM Felix: ... I won't let this temple be desecrated. I was expecting a foreign god to hold sway in here. AM Kate: Taia: Set holds sway here. I thought he would help me kill you, but... AM Felix: The gods favor my family. AM Felix: Felix looks around. "Are you alone here?" AM Kate: Taia: It seems he favors them over me. Yes, I'm alone. AM Kate: She sounds oddly hurt, as if it were personal. AM Felix: ... perhaps he's trying to tell you something. AM Kate: Taia: That I serve him better as a slave in a royal household? AM Felix: Hmm. Yes, that doesn't sound so good when I hear it out loud. AM Kate: Taia lowers her eyes. "Still. Clearly he wills it. May I pick up my weapons?" AM Felix: ... yes. Your fighting style is unique. I'd like to learn it. AM Kate: Taia: I can teach you, vanquisher. ... I will go with you peacefully, but if you try to touch me, I will wait until an opportune moment and cut your throat. With my fingernails if I must. AM Felix: Fair enough. AM Kate: Taia: I am *not* a bed slave. AM Felix: All right. AM Kate: Taia: I have *heard* what happens to women when an army finds them. AM Kate: Taia: ... well. Now what? I suppose we cannot stay here. AM | Edited 1:59:15 AM Felix: We'll stay here, and prevent any remaining enemy combatants from trying to away with the temple's treasures. AM Kate: Taia: Your enemies or mine? AM Felix: I won't let my men despoil the temple, either. The difference is that my men will listen to me when I tell them to leave it be. AM Kate: Taia: And my own people will listen to me. They know. AM Kate: Three soldiers walk in; Ramses recognizes them as some of his own men. AM Kate: Taia has, by this time, retrieved her sickles. AM Kate: Soldier: Is this area secured? AM Kate: Soldier: ... they worship Set here? AM Felix: Yes. This is a temple to Set, a sign of our providence. The temple is not to be despoiled. AM Kate: Soldier: Of course not. Should we guard it, sir? In case there are looters? AM Kate: Taia, angrily: We would not loot our own temple, *you* are the barbarians here, not us. AM Felix: Post a guard outside. Desperate men do desperate things. AM | Edited 2:06:49 AM Kate: The soldier gestures to the other two, and they go out of the temple meaningfully. AM Kate: Ramses does remember the lead soldier's name, although pretty much everybody calls him Scribe, as he's unusually smart and claims to know how to write. AM Kate: Scribe: I see you captured one of theirs; should I bring her with the others? AM Felix: I'll attend to her, Scribe. How goes the rest of the fighting? AM Kate: Scribe: Largely over, sir. Some of them have taken to the caves; we could use your help there. AM Felix: Felix nods. "Tell them I'll be there shortly." AM Felix: ((Damn delicious chili messing with my body's fragile ecosystem.)) AM Kate: He nods, does his obeisances (Ramses is, after all, considered a god to these people) and leaves. AM Kate: Taia: I'll go with you. AM Felix: You'll fight? AM Kate: Taia thinks about this. "If I must." AM Kate: Taia: ... I would rather go, than stay. AM Felix: All right. Promise to obey, and you will come with me. AM Kate: Taia: I will obey. *To an extent.* AM Felix: Very well. AM Kate: Taia: I have taken certain vows to Set and I will not hurt my people if I can help it. AM Felix: As you say, it is our not our way to kill when we can capture. AM Kate: Taia: Enslaving *is* hurting and I would not help you do it. ... but I will not stop you either. I am the property of whoever's army this is. AM Kate: That would be Ramses' sister's husband, nominally, though a lot of the booty will get distributed among the soldiers as well. AM Felix: ..very well then. Come along. AM Kate: She nods, and trots along after him, not too fast. AM Kate: Outside the temple, the two guards do their obeisances to Ramses; Taia glares at them haughtily. AM Kate: "The caves" are a bit away, apparently; you can see some soldiers heading in that general direction, and some captives too--soldiers but also noncombatants, generally weeping and wailing or tied up in some manner. AM Felix: Felix heads in that direction! AM Kate: He heads back out into the desert, and toward a set of cliffs just visible; there are indeed a lot of people over there, though it's hard to see from that distance. AM Kate: Taia frowns. AM Felix: ... you are a magician, aren't you? AM Kate: She nods. "Yes." AM Felix: I knew you were. I saw you... in a dream. AM Kate: Taia: What kind of dream, vanquisher? AM Felix: Felix shakes his head. "You wouldn't believe me." AM Kate: Taia: That is possible. Do you... AM Felix: Do I what? AM Kate: Taia: I don't know. Something feels wrong, do you feel it? AM Felix: There are a lot of things wrong. Can you be more specific? AM Kate: Taia: I don't... AM Kate: She looks around, and then stares at the horizon, pointing... at a massive sandstorm approaching at a horrifying rate. AM Kate: Taia: Run! AM Kate: At this point, it should be noted, you're closer to the caves than to the temple. AM Felix: Felix looks for cover, heading toward the caves! AM Kate: Taia starts running toward the caves; the storm is almost on top of the two of them already, and if they don't run, they definitely won't make it. AM Felix: Felix runs! AM Kate: He rather quickly overtakes her, and Taia falls behind, probably hampered by the bruised ribs. AM Felix: Felix grabs her! Only briefly considering leaving her behind so that maybe things int he future unfold differently... AM Kate: She wheezes. "You'll never make it carrying me, just *go*!" AM Felix: Felix considers it again, grabs her anyway. AM Felix: ((He's just not the sort. >_> )) AM Kate: ((nope!)) AM Kate: She clings a bit, made even heavier by her armor, and Felix-Ramses staggers into the cave just as the sandstorm hits, stinging his face before he gets far enough in to avoid it. AM Felix: He sets her down. AM Kate: She stares at him. "... you saved my life. Why?" AM Felix: You're my responsibility. AM Kate: Taia: ... few would have bothered. One less enemy. AM Felix: It pleases me to be one of the few. AM Felix: Besides, Set would have been displeased. AM Kate: Taia smiles. "I like your first answer better. I never know what the gods will; even when they tell me, it is *so* confusing." AM Kate: Taia: What is it like, being a god, vanquisher? AM Felix: I imagine it's much like being a man. Though people expect more of you. AM Kate: Taia: You beat me. I did not expect that. AM Kate: Taia: I suppose I ought to have recognized it somehow. Your armor is very good, but the nobles, they have similar things. AM Felix: I was born to war. AM Kate: Taia: And have practiced well. AM Kate: Taia: But the gods are different, and you royals, they say, have the blood of gods. Where do ordinary people go when we die? AM Kate: Taia: Your tombs, your mummies... all these things, for *your* afterlife. We who have nothing, what happens to us? AM Kate: Taia: Perhaps it doesn't matter to you. AM Felix: I don't know. I'm not a scholar. There is too much to be done in this life to worry about the next, for me. AM Kate: Taia: Ah, but you *are* a royal. You'll have a tomb, a mummy... everything will be done for you. AM Kate: Taia: The rest of us... do we simply return, and live another life? AM Kate: Taia: Or cease entirely? AM Felix: I believe that life is too short to be wasted worrying about the end. Why would the gods have us live one short life only for that to be the end? AM Kate: Taia: Perhaps some day I will be a princess too, then. And then I would be in the same afterlife as you. AM Felix: Perhaps. AM Felix: Would you try to kill me with your sickles if I intruded there? AM Kate: Taia: ... no. I was ... hasty before. I'm sorry. You saved my life and... you've been kind to me. And you saved my temple. AM Felix: I would have done the same, I believe. AM Kate: Taia: And perhaps I might have won, then. I don't know. I think you have wounded me. Would you... help me remove my armor, please? It is rubbing against my back in a very painful way. AM Felix: Felix nods. "Yes." He helps her out of her armor! AM Kate: It's easily done; she's got a fair amount of padding under there, too. AM Kate: The back does have a fair amount of blood showing through the padding, though judging from how it hasn't spread a lot, it's probably more oozing than gushing. AM Felix: We'll have to attend to the bleeding. AM Kate: Taia: Is it bleeding? AM Kate: She tries to look at her own back, which, of course, fails. AM Felix: A little. AM Kate: Taia pulls her top off, matter-of-factly, and holds it to her front. "How bad is it?" AM Kate: She turns her back to him. AM Kate: It's pretty ugly--a huge, purply-grey bruise, mottled, across most of her back, and it's oozing blood in a couple of places. AM Felix: It's not bad. Mostly a big bruise. AM Felix: Felix will clean it! AM Kate: He does have some water with him. AM Kate: She flinches a bit while he does, but doesn't cry or whimper at all. AM Felix: He cleans it as well as he can! AM Kate: She turns around when he's done, and smiles at him. "Thank you." AM Felix: Time will heal the rest. AM Kate: She nods, and sets the padding down. AM Kate: Do note that exposed breasts were pretty normal at this time in Egypt. AM Kate: Typically women wore a dress that exposed their boobs anyway, so it wouldn't be odd or uncomfortable. AM Felix: ((I figured!)) AM Kate: (And rich women wore nearly transparent dresses, too.) AM Kate: It's pretty dark in the cave, so it's not odd when she says, "Do you think you could start a fire in here?" AM Felix: ((Is there vegetation to do so?)) AM Kate: There is. Dead moss, mostly. AM Felix: I think I could manage it. AM Felix: Felix sets to scraping off dead moss. AM Kate: She helps with that. AM Kate: And laughs, suddenly. "A prince and a god, starting a fire for the comfort of an enemy slave." AM Felix: I don't like the dark, either. AM Kate: Taia: Darkness can be a blessing from the gods. A refuge from the harsh light of the sun. AM Kate: Taia: And if Set had not murdered Osiris he would not have risen. AM Felix: I know. AM Felix: Besides... I don't know that you're an enemy. AM Kate: Taia: I don't want to be your enemy. AM Kate: Soon they have a nice mound of mold! AM Felix: Felix strikes some rocks to get a spark! AM Kate: He starts a fire pretty quickly, and the mold burns nicely, creating some light in the cave. Taia sits next to him, gingerly, because of her back. AM Felix: Better? AM Kate: Taia: Yes. Thank you. AM Kate: She turns to him and kisses him! AM Felix: He kisses her back! AM Kate: Roll a D10! AM Felix: ((7!)) AM Kate: It feels like the Countess at first. Only as she gets more enthusiastic does it feel like Taia. AM Felix: ((Okay, ready for bed.)) He kisses her back, being careful about her wounds. AM Kate: She *tries* to start pulling his armor off. Does he let her? AM Felix: He does! AM Kate: Annnnd we'll curtain for the evening there. Category:Logs Category:Mummy Game